Levy burden on miners pegged at Rs 50,000 crore if govt order implemented

The miners have prayed to the court to quash the Indian Stamp (Odisha Amendment) Act, 2013, which allows the Odisha government to collect stamp duty on lapsed mining leases

Govt refuses to budge preparing the field for face-off

The tussle between the state government and miners over the recent order on mining stamp duty has hit a new pitch as the former refused to relax the deadline for collection of the levy.

The Odisha government has recommended to the Union ministry of commerce & industry to extend formal approval for Tata Steel's multi-product Special Economic Zone (SEZ) at Gopalpur for one year.

"The state government has been pleased to recommend the proposal of Tata Steel for extension of formal approval for another one year from June 18 this year to June 17, 2014, in respect of multi-product SEZ at Gopalpur.

In an unusual turn to the process of land acquisition for industrial projects, Latehar district’s Jala village has split along caste lines, with one group demanding that the Gram Sabha be convened a second time to overturn an earlier rejection of a mining project. On the other hand, a group of villagers opposing the project claim that the Tritiya Sammelan Prastuti Committee, a Left Wing Extremist group, is in favour of mining and has even threatened to kill one of them if he does not relent.

Forest diversion cases apply to 55 out of 59 working mines in state; these 55 lessees have achieved only partial diversion of their leasehold area

Renewal of mining leases in Odisha is now fraught with a tough challenge following issue of new guidelines by Union ministry of environment & forests (MoEF), making it compulsory for miners to obtain full forest diversion.

If the M B Shah Commission's proposal for a complete ban on iron ore mining in Odisha is implemented, it may result in a fall of 11 million tonnes (mt) in the combined captive iron ore output of Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) and Tata Steel.

Earlier, iron ore mining was banned in Goa, after it was found norms related to the environment had been violated. The commission is finalising its recommendations on irregularities in iron ore mining in Odisha. If the commission suggests a blanket ban on mining, SAIL would lose four mt of captive iron ore output, while Tata Steel would lose seven mt of iron ore a year.

Trouble for big fish Jindal Steel, NTPC, Tata Steel, SAIL

The Government is likely to issue show-cause notices to allocatees of 32 captive coal blocks, including Jindal Steel and Power, NTPC, Tata Steel and SAIL, for failing to develop the blocks on time.

The Supreme Court had banned mining in Karnataka in July 2011

The crisis seems to be far from over for the mining industry in Karnataka, Goa and Odisha, the three major iron ore producing states in the country. Though some relief came for the industry in Karnataka last year and again in April this year with the Supreme Court allowing partial resumption of mining operations, normalcy in the sector may not return anytime soon.

An environment panel has recommended that Tata Steel be allowed to expand its production from the Sukhinda chromite mines in Odisha, paving the way for the company to resume operations that were suspended in January.

The expert appraisal committee for mining decided to recommend clearance for enhancing production from the chromite mine and to allow change in technology from open cast to underground mining at its meeting on April 16. The recommendation now awaits a final nod from the environment minister.

As many as 345 solar street lamps are being installed in Tata Steel’s 39 leasehold villages in Jharia division under the company’s corporate social responsibility programme.

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